One of Alexander Volkanovski‘s best performances came in a loss.
UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) attempted to chase dual-champ status after defending his title four times. He moved up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in Perth, in what wound up being one of the most competitive fights of Makhachev’s career.
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Volkanovski pushed Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) to the brink, but ultimately lost a close decision. Despite not getting his hand raised, Volkanovski took a lot of positives out of that performance.
“We know how good Islam is until this day – look what he’s doing,” Volkanovski said in an interview with ENGAGE. “Everyone knew that back then. He just hadn’t faced the guys yet to even get that type of resume. Even though his resume was still good, it wasn’t the resume he’s got now. But everyone knew he was that good. And me moving up against a guy that’s got that style, everyone thought there’s no way.
“So for me to go out there and do what I did, a lot of people thinking I won and just having that type of fight, me still being pound-for-pound No. 1 was still crazy. We broke records in Australia when you talk numbers and gates, and pay-per-views here in Australia. It was a massive fight, lived up to the hype, the storyline – everything around it was just incredible. Even though I lost, I still think it’s probably one of the biggest moments of my career.”
Volkanovski would return to featherweight to notch his fifth successful title defense against Yair Rodriguez, before getting another crack at Makhachev – this time on short notice at UFC 294. He was knocked out in the first round, prompting his return back down to featherweight.
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However, Volkanovski ended up suffering his second-straight knockout loss when he was dethroned by Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. But opportunity knocked again when Topuria vacated his featherweight title for a move up to lightweight, giving Volkanovski a vacant title fight against Diego Lopes. Volkanovski beat Lopes at UFC 314 to reclaim his belt, and beat him a second time in their rematch at UFC 325 to retain the title.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski reflects on first Islam Makhachev loss
